Extensive journeys in Britain and continental Europe provided an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the visionary colour composi-tions of J. M. William Turner. In Switzerland he experienced the beauty and menace of the Alps, and by the sea the colourful harmonies of the diffuse light. The publication presents an incomparably original artist on his route to autonomy in art. The temporary peace on the continent from 1802 enabled the London artist to extend his search for motifs to Central Europe. In particular he travelled through the mountain world of Switzerland, constantly sketching his impressions. Back in his studio, he developed the unique imagery of his sublime landscape paintings. Through pictures which tell of the forces of nature of the sea and of the Swiss mountain landscapes, the authors examine the change in the portrayal of the "sublime", the subject of weather phenomena and Turner's role as the forerunner of Modernism, while Cees Nooteboom reflects on Turner and travel.

Overleaf is a delightful and thought provoking book dedicated to foliage. Susan Ogilvy's 74 delicate and delightful paintings are a study of that most obvious but smallest coherent part of a tree - the leaf. The paintings of both sides of the leaves of 37 trees found across the temperate regions of Europe and North America are uncluttered and beautiful portraits that will appear akin to everlasting pressing. Richard Ogilvy's thought provoking text reflects on the wonderful, detail complexity of our woodlands and forest. For each tree he has penned a concise portrait - how it relates to the environment, how big it grows, how fast it grows, where it grows, the dependent birds, insects and fungi, the mythology, and the uses we make of the timber.

To coincide with the 2016 centennial anniversary of the National Parks Service, the Creative Action Network has partnered with the National Parks Conservation Association to revive and reimagine the legacy of WPA travel posters. Artists from all over the world have participated in the creation of this new, crowdsourced collection of See America posters for a modern era. Featuring artwork for 75 national parks and monuments across all 50 states, this engaging keepsake volume celebrates the full range of America's landmarks and treasured wilderness.

The art of Franz and Ferdinand Bauer was praised by the poet and botanist Johann Goethe as the perfect expression of the aims of botanical illustration. The book examines the contrasting lives of Franz (1758-1840), for 50 years the resident artist at Kew Gardens, and Ferdinand (1760-1826) who led a life of travel and adventure as a natural history artist including participating in the historic voyage to Australia of HMS Investigator in the early nineteenth century. It is illustrated with images from the superb archive of Bauer drawings at the Natural History Museum Library, many of which have never been published before. These include beautiful and finely detailed watercolours of flowering plants collected from across the world, pioneering microscopical drawings of plant anatomy and pictures of the newly discovered animals from the coasts of Australia. The book is published to tie-in with a new art exhibition opening at the Natural History Museum in November 2015.

Allen Staley's book The Pre-Raphaelite Landscape ignited a revival of interest in Pre-Raphaelite painting nearly three decades ago. Reintroducing the small group of young English artists who in 1848 founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, this landmark book helped to attract both scholars and a new generation of admirers to the brilliant and audacious work of the Pre-Raphaelites. In this completely revised and updated second edition, Staley takes into account important artworks that have recently come to light as well as current understandings of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and its legacy. This lovely volume is greatly enhanced by more than 150 luminous color illustrations.

Ranging widely in this volume, Staley offers a comprehensive account of the formation of the Brotherhood, the artists' theoretical concerns about depictions of the natural world, and the emergence and impact of a school of Pre-Raphaelite landscape painting. Staley also discusses all the figures important to Pre-Raphaelitism: the artists (among them John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt), their associates (Ford Madox Brown, William Dyce), the landscape specialists they influenced (Thomas Seddon, George Price Boyce), and their most articulate supporter, John Ruskin.

Susan Herbert's delightful feline reimaginings of famous scenes from art, theatre, opera, ballet and film have won her a devoted following. This unprecedented new compilation of her best paintings provides an irresistible introduction to her feline world. An array of cat characters take the starring roles in a variety of instantly recognizable settings. The masterpieces of Western art retain their distinctive styles while being cleverly filled with furry faces and pussycat tails. Cats then take to the stage in Shakespearean dramas and lavishly staged opera productions. The final stop is Hollywood, where cats are cast in everything from big-budget epics to cult classics, emulating the timeless glamour of the golden age of cinema. From Botticelli's Birth of Venus through Puccini's Tosca to James Dean and Lawrence of Arabia, Susan Herbert's brilliantly observed feline dramatis personae are a joy to discover.

Play Card Games and Learn About Owls! Anyone who enjoys birds and nature will love these cards for playing your favorite games or to use as flash cards. Inspired by Stan Tekiela's famous Intriguing Owls photography book, this gorgeous deck features full-color photographs of 15 of North America's most common and fascinating owl species. Play card games while learning to identify owls. The deck is a fun and thoughtful gift.

Nature's Explorers celebrates the individuals who made great personal endeavours in order to document the natural world. Their findings revolutionised our understanding of nature and gave birth to the modern fields of geography, evolutionary biology, oceanography and anthropology. From ground-breaking theorists such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace to evocative artists like Ferdinand Bauer and John James Audubon, these explorers shared an ambition to illuminate new worlds and each embodied the spirit of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution.

India's Punjab is the land of the five rivers, five (Punj) rivers (Aab) - Ravi, Satluj, Chenab, Beas and Jhelum. It is also the birthplace of Max Kandhola's family, who historically were landowners, with connections to farming, agriculture and also to the military. Max Kandhola decided to go back to Punjab after completing his project "Illustration of Life" (2002) in which he documented his father's last moments of life, and reflected on issues within Sikh ritual, immortality and death. Over the last four years, he has visited the region as part of a continuing project to map family history through an odyssey of ancestral narratives, exploring memory, diaspora and identity. For him it is a land which is unfamiliar, yet it provides both a context and a beginning. Kandhola's journey began in Nurmahal, in the district of Jalandhar, from which most of his family originally came. Using this as a starting point he travelled from the centre of Punjab outwards.

Part of a series of exciting and luxurious Flame Tree Notebooks. Combining high-quality production with magnificent fine art, the covers are printed on foil in five colours, embossed, then foil stamped. And they're powerfully practical: a pocket at the back for receipts and scraps, two bookmarks and a solid magnetic side flap. These are perfect for personal use and make a dazzling gift. This example features Nel Whatmore's Tender Loving Care

The Concept of Nature in Early Modern English Literature traces a genealogy of ecology in seventeenth-century literature and natural philosophy through the development of the protoecological concept of 'the oeconomy of nature'. Founded in 1644 by Kenelm Digby, this concept was subsequently employed by a number of theologians, physicians, and natural philosophers to conceptualize nature as an interdependent system. Focusing on the middle decades of the seventeenth century, Peter Remien examines how Samuel Gott, Walter Charleton, Robert Boyle, Samuel Collins, and Thomas Burnet formed the oeconomy of nature. Remien also shows how literary authors Ben Jonson, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell, Margaret Cavendish, and John Milton use the discourse of oeconomy to explore the contours of humankind's relationship with the natural world. This book participates in an intellectual history of the science of ecology while prompting a re-evaluation of how we understand the relationship between literature and ecology in the early modern period.

Through stunning digital photography, Roger Camp creates glorious collages of color to present five hundred of the world's most beautiful flowers. A feast for the eye, this is a fine art photographer's rendition of the natural world.

Details of the five hundred flowers displayed are included in an informative index.

A beautifully illustrated look at the vogue for night landscapes amid the social, political, and technological changes of modern America The turn of the 20th century witnessed a surge in the creation and popularity of nocturnes and night landscapes in American art. In this original and thought-provoking book, Helene Valance investigates why artists and viewers of the era were so captivated by the night. Nocturne examines works by artists such as James McNeill Whistler, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, Edward Steichen, and Henry Ossawa Tanner through the lens of the scientific developments and social issues that dominated the period. Valance argues that the success of the genre is connected to the resonance between the night and the many forces that affected the era, including technological advances that expanded the realm of the visible, such as electric lighting and photography; Jim Crow-era race relations; America's closing frontier and imperialism abroad; and growing anxiety about identity and social values amid rapid urbanization. This absorbing study features 150 illustrations encompassing paintings, photographs, prints, scientific illustration, advertising, and popular media to explore the predilection for night imagery as a sign of the times.

A fascinating exploration of the time Winslow Homer spent in England and how it influenced his art Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is widely regarded as the greatest American painter of the 19th century, but it is not well known that he spent a pivotal period of time on the other side of the Atlantic. The eighteen months Homer spent in England in 1881 and 1882-studying the work of masters such as J. M. W. Turner and Lawrence Alma-Tadema, and exploring the landscape of coastal villages-irrevocably shaped his creative identity. This beautifully designed and produced publication explores Homer's time in England and how it influenced his art, as he attempted to reconcile his affinity for traditional subject matter with his increasingly modern aesthetic vision. Coming Away complicates our understanding of his work and convincingly argues that it has more cosmopolitan underpinnings than previously thought.

The treasures highlighted here are selected both from objects on display and those stored behind the scenes. Each one is chosen for its scientific importance, striking beauty or intriguing story--and sometimes all three. Among the many exceptional natural wonders featured are: a rare meteorite from Mars; Darwin's celebrated finch specimens; a lethal claw from the dinosaur Baryonyx; one of the first forms of life on Earth; and some immaculately dressed fleas. The book also includes the magnificent Museum building itself with its many architectural treasures. With intriguing stories behind each entry, this a fascinating insight into the Museum's unrivaled collections. This reduced size edition is chunky yet portable, and retains the lavish finish of the original gift book.